Happy Birthday UAE Food Bloggers (aka FIA)!

[caption id="attachment_647" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Happy 1st Birthday FIA!"][/caption]

A special yummy birthday post for a food loving and equally beautiful 56 talented UAE Food Bloggers!

 

My once a upon FIA story began when I commented and joined Rajani's (eatwritethink) blog giveaway April this year.

 

MyNappytales started as a baby-mommy blog then I stopped when we moved here for Bana's work, fast forward to March this year I decided to write about food and once again I found time to blog. I actually first virtually met Kari and Sandy when Vierte had some chicken and soup craving which led to visiting other UAE base bloggers. I didn't know then that FIA existed.

 

After 3 food related post Rajani asked if I wanted to join a UAE food group without hesitation I said YES. Arva (iliveinafryingpan) fried up an overwhelming welcome message (made me smile ear to ear) and introduce me to the group FB page.

 

I already got to meet some of them at the Farmers Market for some photography lesson, baked our goodies at BakeFestDXB, lined up at Tavola to meet Martha Stewart, and just recently went on a food safari at Atlantis. From finding one food item to restaurant recommendation to photography tips each one helps.

 

FIA added spice to my boring SAHM life, everyday I read and learn a thing or two on each blogpost.

 

Besides winning the blog giveaway I aslo won a new set of friends. I'm so happy to be among happy delicious people.

Happy Birthday 1st birthday Famished In Arabia!

 

Hop on to Ms. FryingPan's  post here for some FIA history.

Emirati Recipe: Lamb Makhtoum

Ginger over at gingerAndscotch started a cooking local project you can read more about it here. A fabulous idea right! What better way to appreciate the culture where we live if we don’t at least try their dish. If I can’t speak Arabic might as well learn to cook local dish.

Even before being part of FIA I have been reading Emiratican Kitchen and have bookmarked her recipe for Chicken Makhtoum. She noted on her post that lamb would be a delicious substitute to chicken.

When I told C that we’re having a local dish for dinner he immediately inquired if I prepared an emergency backup meal in case they won’t like it. Nope I don’t have any backup and they can order take out. I already know that Little V liked the lamb dish because he was beside me all the time tasting and checking if it’s yummy or not. He liked it so much that asked for rice and sauce for snack.

Recipe Source:

Emiratican Kitchen

Ya Salam Cooking

Emirati Recipe: Lamb Makhtoum

1 kilo Lamb

2 Tomatoes, chopped

1 tbsp Canola Oil

1 medium size Onion

1 cup Yogurt

1 tsp Salt

2 tbsp Tomato Paste

1 tbsp Arabic Spice mix

1 cup frozen Garden Peas

In your blender mix tomatoes, onion, yogurt, tomato paste, salt, Arabic spice mix and blend 

till you get a smooth texture. Meanwhile heat oil in a large pan and saute lamb meat till brown. Add yogurt mix over medium heat for 10 minutes. Mix frozen peas and cook for an hour over low heat till meat is soft.

We enjoyed Lamb Makhtoum with Vegetable Rice Pilaf and Pappadam

FIA Recipes: Mango Japanese Cheesecake

FIA (famished in Arabia) is a group of food bloggers, you can find links to their blogs by clicking on FIA tab. Visiting each site has become a morning ritual and it's kinda good and bad for me - I end up hungry after each visit  and my list of recipes to try has piled up. 


With a whole lot of recipes to try it'll be a waste if they only end up printed and not created at all. That's why I decided to try at least 1 recipe a month from FIA.